Driver involved in fatal I-10 crash investigated for possible impairment; eastbound lanes reopen

A fatal crash that occurred Thursday morning on Interstate 10 near 67th Avenue caused the closure of the eastbound lanes of the freeway in Phoenix for more than four hours.

The closure happened around 4:30 a.m and the freeway reopened around 9 a.m. The westbound lanes were unaffected, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Just before 2 a.m., a woman driving in the slow eastbound lane of I-10 with her hazard lights on was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer, according to Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bart Graves.

Witnesses told troopers that the tractor-trailer struck the car, pushing it into another semi-truck. The car "burst into flames," Graves said, and trapped the woman. She was pronounced dead on scene.

The woman was the only person in the car.

The driver who struck the car first was being investigated for possible impairment, according to Graves. He was not arrested on scene.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Reach breaking news reporter Angela Cordoba Perez at Angela.CordobaPerez@Gannett.com or on Twitter @AngelaCordobaP.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Eastbound I-10 lanes in Phoenix reopen after fatal crash